Ernie White, front, will be joined by a host of local musicians at his 12th annual Christmas Benefit Concert, including, from left, Lisa Bouchelle, Jessica Paris and Sandy Zio.

For the past two years, Ernie White’s annual holiday benefit show has been styled as a sit-down rock show at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial.

This year, White decided to make the show more of a hybrid of a rock show/party vibe, as the 12th annual Ernie White Band and Friends Christmas Benefit Concert will move to the Hamilton Manor, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, in the hall’s Grand Ballroom.

“This year, we decided to make it a little bit looser, rather than just sit and watch the guys play,” White says, noting that the dance floor will be open for all who want to boogie.

The show will benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK).

Last year’s show raised $9,000 for the organization, a nonprofit group that feeds the hungry and helps the poor find a path to self-sufficiency. TASK serves hot, nutritious lunches Monday through Friday and an evening meal Monday through Thursday, for a total of 3,500 meals per week.

White and his band will perform on their own and back other musicians, with a horn section and a group of backing vocalists helping out. Some other bands will play on their own, White says.

White says there will be an additional set added to this year’s merriment: Standard rock songs will be doctored to include Christmas lyrics. He says this part of the show will be most humorous.

“Rock songs will be transformed magically into Christmas songs,” he says.

For instance? The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” will evolve into “St. Nick.” You get the picture.

“The show will be a blend of all styles of music,” says White, who adds that the show is also a celebration of music created locally in Trenton. “There will be rock, rhythm and blues, jazz and reggae.”